Road to Rio: Brazilian Cuisine + Brigadeiro Recipe

The opening ceremony of the 2016 Rio Olympics is just 12 days away! Although there has been negativity surrounding the water quality and Zika virus, Brazilian offers a beautiful cultural experience. This included Brazil's cuisine. Food brings everyone together and understands all languages.



Brazilian cuisine was developed from European and African influences and varies by region. The country's climate is tropical and it's biggest exports include coffee, fruits, cattle, and vegetables. Brazilian recipes feature the fiery spices and tropical ingredients. Rice and beans are staples of Brazilian cuisine. The national dish, feijoda, a beef stew, features kidney beans and is served with rice.


Meals vary by region, but common Brazilian breakfast items tropical fruits, tapioca, local cakes, couscous, and grilled ham and cheese. Lunch is usually the largest meal of the day and may include dishes such as barbecue churrasco (steak), pincanha (rump roast), or moqueca (fish stew). Lunch and dinner also include bread and butter or jam, a strong, small cup of coffee, and ends with tropical fruits.


Sweets are a very important part of Brazilian culture. The brigadeiro, also knows as the Brazilian Truffle, is the most popular Brazilian dessert. It is commonly made from condensed milk, cocoa powder, butter, and chocolate sprinkles.


The brigadeiro makes up a big part of Brazilian culture and it a dessert that is eaten by the rich, the poor, adults, children, men, and women. It can be found at all special occasions from a child's birthday party to state occasions.

Brigadeiro has recently gone gourmet, adding pistachio, almond, hazelnuts, strawberries, nutella, passion fruit, and coconut to the recipe. There are oven 50 flavors available and are sold at brigadeiro boutiques. This Brazilian delicacy pairs well with wine, whisky, Baileys, and  cachaca.




What You'll Need:

1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup of cocoa powder
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
1 tablespoon of vanilla extra
chocolate sprinkles
mini cupcake liners

What You'll Need to Do:

1.Whisk condensed milk and cocoa powder together until there are no lumps from the cocoa powder.
2. Stir in butter.
3. Put mixture in a non-stick saucepan and cook over medium- low heat, stirring constantly, for 5-8 minutes, or until mixture starts to thicken and starts to peel away or show the bottoms of a the pan when you scrape it with a wooden spoon.
4. The chocolate fudge mixture should be thick enough to show the bottom of the pan for a couple of seconds before the mixture levels about again.
5. Remove from heat.
6. Mix in the vanilla extract.
7. Spread mixture onto to greased plate.
8. Let cool to room temperature.
9.  Rolls mixture into balls.
10. Dredge in chocolate sprinkles, covering completely.
11. ENJOY!




2 comments

  1. Am I brave enough to try to make the brigadiers? They look intimidating but also very good!! - Crystal

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  2. That national dish looks amazing. Beef, beans and rice! Yum. Man, I wish I was going to Rio....well, on 2nd thought with the zika stuff maybe not, but it is definitely a place I'd like to visit some day.

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